I can only think of one reason that Meet The Blacks exists, considering how unfunny I found it, and that is to show that black people can deliver comedies just as bad as anything from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Although this isn't a parody exactly in line with their movies, it similarly misunderstands how to turn the main premise into something truly funny.
And that main premise is very simple. Mike Epps plays Carl Black, a man who has suddenly come into a large sum of money, which allows him to move his family into a lovely new home in Beverly Hills. Not only will that give them a daily boost of happiness, it will also allow them to stay safe and avoid the perils of purge night (the one night when all crime is legal). Oh yeah, this is a movie set in a USA that has a purge night, allowing the film-makers to spoof The Purge. Unfortunately, Carl is about to have numerous encounters with people who want to act aggressively towards him. On purge night.
I am once again depressed by my shocking lack of quality control when it comes to the movies I choose to watch. I saw Meet The Blacks available, I remembered thinking that the trailer I saw a number of years ago left me wondering if it might be a worthwhile satire, and I made a snap decision that I started to regret within the first 5-10 minutes of watching the movie. Everything begins with a clumsy explanation delivered in voiceover, and it only gets worse from there.
Director Deon Taylor can receive most of the blame, considering they also helped to co-write the screenplay with Nicole DeMasi. Taylor doesn't have too many directorial credits to his name, although he did also give us a sequel to this film (good grief, I already weep as I realise that I will one day watch that sequel), and DeMasi has an even smaller résumé, with their screenwriting work before this consisting of two TV promo pieces for Ella Enchanted and one short film. Perhaps not having much experience behind the camera should have had people trying to cast the best people in front of the camera, but that is far from the case.
Epps isn't a good lead. He cannot improve a script which leaves him playing someone unfunny, uncaring, hard to sympathise with, and never really changing from beginning to end. Zulay Henao, Alex Henderson, and Bresha Webb make up the rest of the Black family, and they fare a bit better than Epps, mainly because they are often sidelined for many of the supporting, much less enjoyable/funny, players. I'll mention Lil Duval, Charlie Murphy, Andrew Bachelor, Phil Austin, Kate Enggren, and Gary Owen, but I'm not going to insult anyone by specifying how good or bad each one is. Suffice to say that most tend to be bad. But at least you get cameos from George Lopez and Mike Tyson, right? To be fair, the Tyson cameo was the moment that did make me come closest to chuckling, and others may enjoy that scene as much as I did.
Maybe I just wasn't in the target demographic for this one. I didn't like the main character, I didn't care about how any of the plot unfolded, and none of the parody worked. The whole thing felt lazy, amateurish, and insulting to viewers who deserve better. Which, due to me watching this just one day after watching Skinamarink, now makes me two for two during a hugely disappointing weekend for my viewing choices.
2/10
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